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Annotated Reference Guide to Collectible Books

King, Stephen

There are many different factors that go into making a book collectible. Two obvious factors are its age and the popularity of its author, but also condition comes into play, the unique features of the design and the publication. In this example from the prolific American horror and suspense author Stephen King, we can see just how some of these factors come to affect the price.

The Stand is a post-apocalyptic tale of moral and psychological threat, written when the novelist King was in what some reviewers call his ‘early’ period with solidly horrific tales like Carrie, The Shining, and It. In later years (through the 90’s) his novels moved towards suspense and thriller, such as Dolore Claireborne, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, etc.

The Stand isn’t actually particularly ‘old’ as far as collectible books go. The first edition by publisher Doubleday was in 1978, and didn’t even have a clothbound or otherwise specialist cover and binding. With a book that is only just over thirty years old, would you be surprised if I told you that some First Editions were selling at auction for over $800? As a matter of fact, a dedicated search reveals several First Edition Doubleday’s of the master of Horror’s ‘The Stand’ going for prices that range from $350 right up to that $800 mark. This large difference in prices highlights just how varied the collectible marketplace can be, and how the budding collector needs to be armed with advice, patience and a dash of business acumen.

So, what can we assume has made this book from the end of the seventies so valuable? Our first impression is of the overwhelming popularity of the author. Stephen King, as a writer, has been growing from strength to strength, and is an author who now has an impressive back catalogue of books catering to a range of tastes. Stephen King is now a respected literary figure of weight, and his prestige is conferred as value to his early first editions accordingly. If you are looking to start a collecting career, you might do far worse than to look to established contemporary greats such as Stephen King, John Grisham, JK Rowling, who have all accrued a large amount of popular acclaim, it wouldn’t surprise us if their back catalogue is valued to collectors for many years to come!

King, Stephen. Whispers Magazine. Whispers, Binghamton, NY (1982).August 1982 Vol.5 No.1/2 whole no.17/18; Edited by Stuart David Schiff; Edition of 376 copies; 350 numbered copies and 26 lettered copies, signed by King and Schiff; hardbound; Includes: “Before the Play, It Grows On You, and On the Shining and Other Perpetrations by Stephen King

King, Stephen. The Regulators. Dutton, New York (1996).Written under the pseudonym “Richard Bachman”; Motokopps 2200 Power Wagon edition of 500 numbered and signed copies; 26 lettered and signed copies; regular edition first state copies have misordered content on pp. 468-469